ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on one important aspect of London's phenomenal growth – the maritime sector – to explore how and what factors were most responsible for London's success in linking local, regional and international trade, particularly during the late fourteenth and fifteenth century, when the foundation for the rapid expansion of early modern London's maritime networks was laid. London's growth and commercial success was assisted by its proximity to the centre of royal government in its suburban settlement of Westminster, about 2.5 km to the west. The administrative, financial and legal functions provided by the royal government drew the country's rich and powerful to the capital while also providing employment to many civil servants and therefore a substantial consumer market for the cargoes that piled up on London's wharves. People understanding of medieval London's shipping is far behind their grasp of its overseas trade and mercantile networks.
